Just because it's cute

Ignore all the clutter in the background. I just had to share this video because it is so cute. G4 is starting to understand the concept of reading, and is starting to memorize so many things. She brings home all these little books from school and it is so fun to have her "read" them to me. I can't believe how big all my babies are getting! One of these days I promise to update on all the many things going on in the Fairlie household. But for now, enjoy!

Hair cuts!

G2, G3 and I decided they needed/wanted hair cuts. I let them decide how they wanted it cut. I tried to talk them into different hair cuts... G3 was first and at first I only cut her hair up to her shoulders (no before pictures, sorry!). She saw it and told me it needed to be shorter.

G2 was second and said she wanted hers like G3. G3 didn't seem too pleased with that and even said "No, we are not the same person!"

Here are pictures of their hair now. Even though I cut them pretty similar I think they aren't quite the same. The girls are so happy with their hair. G2 told me this morning she wants everyone to see their hair.

One of my favorite pictures

G4

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1st Grade

We now have a First Grader! It seems so unbelievable. He, just like his father, didn't seem to have much emotion about going into first grade. Our boy is reminding me of his daddy more and more every day.

G1's teacher for this year just had a baby and is on maternity leave until after Labor Day. He will have a sub until then.

He wanted his hair spiked. Here he is getting ready for the day (he doesn't look like my baby boy anymore!):

Getting ready to leave for school:
His back pack was very full!
I didn't get to take him to school because G2 and G3 had a doctor appointment at the same time that school started. So, Daddy and G1 walked to school. I love that they both look annoyed at me for taking a picture.
And they're off:
Yesterday was only 2.5 hours. Today through the 31st they get out 55-minutes early (don't get me started on my thoughts about that!).
I have a TON that I need to blog to get caught up. Now that school is back in session I hope that will give me a little bit of time to do so.

I'm so glad to have to be back to a routine. I do so much better when I have a regular schedule going.

Happy 6th Birthday to my boy!!!

G4's 3rd Birthday Party

I know I am 6 weeks late in posting this, but better late than never, right??

For G4's birthday party we had a Minnie Mouse theme. She invited a lot of her little girl friends.

I made them all Minnie Mouse ears. They were pretty easy, just very time consuming, and I burned myself. A lot.

The birthday girl:

Birthday girl with her sisters:
The Marcias graced us with their presence:
The cupcakes. I was very pleased with how these turned out.
Pin the Bow on Minnie game poster, made by Grammy:
The banner:
The table:
Birthday girl was first to pin the bow on Minnie:
G2:
G3:
Grammy wanted a turn:

MHT with her Minnie Mouse ears on:
Eating her cake and ice cream (I did a big scoop of vanilla ice cream with two little scoops of chocolate ice cream as the ears and then put a red candy bow, but obviously don't have that picture on the netbook):
Opening presents, I chose the pictures that I loved her faces in the most:


The game poster after all the girls were done:
I believe we had 14 little girls in the house (including MHT and my girls). They all seemed to have a good time. G4 is ready for her next birthday party.

Some people just don't get it

There is this article in our newspaper. When I first read the article I was so happy that finally there seems to be more concern for food-allergy and diabetic children at the schools here. Then I read the comments, there are some people that are great, they understand, whether or not they have their own children affected by food allergies. Then there are some that aggravate me so much. These are the people that concern me.

G2 and G3 have over a full year before they will start Kindergarten, yet every time I think about it I about have a panic attack. I'm terrified for their safety. While they know their allergies, they are also very trusting. If a "safe" adult were to tell them something is okay for them to eat it, they will do so.

It is hard enough entrusting someone else with the care of your "normal" child, but then when you add something, like an allergy or other health concern, it is even harder to trust. Then, when they are in a school setting you don't only have to worry about the adults that they are in the care of, but also all the other children and their families.

There were times this school year that G1 came home with candy and would tell me his friend "so-and-so" gave it to him. I tried to stress to him that we don't take candy from other people, even if it is a friend, unless an adult says it is okay. Well, another child or parent could easily offer one of my girls something. G2 almost always asks if it is safe, G3 just trusts that if something is offered it is safe. When these other children or adults are asked if it is safe, and they have no clue about the allergy or what the ingredients are they are very likely to tell my children that it is okay for them to eat it. Then what?

Granted neither one has had a severe reaction, but that's because I have been right there and on top of things. We don't know what would happen if they didn't have a "responsible" adult around them (by responsible, I mean one that is caring for them and knows what to do in case of an emergency). We don't know what the next reaction will look like. We don't know when that "oh, it will be fine" moment could turn fatal. Some food allergies are easier to understand, nut allergies are always changing. Most of the time if someone has a nut allergy it gets worse with time and exposure.

There are these two comments, from the same person that really irritated me:

"Also, I would never dream of making someone else conform as to accommodate myself or my family. Those families that are imposing these restrictions upon the children at the school need to also put themselves in the shoes of the other children and see if they believe it's fair to them as well."

"Again, in all fairness you need to think about the entire student population and how it effects everyone. It's not just about these kids with food allergies."

I have typed and deleted so much in response to these comments, but I just find myself not able to put my words into "print." That's how aggravated I am.

If you get a chance read the article and the comments.

Most of the people that read this blog love my girls (well, all of my children) almost as much as I do. You know how stressed I get about making sure my babies don't have anything they shouldn't. Some of you know how upset (sometimes to the point of crying) I get when I am worried about these things.

I'm not sure I made any sense at all in this post. I'm sure it is just a bunch of rambling that only makes sense to me (and maybe Mom and Marcia because they seem to understand my rambling even when I don't).

Girls spelling

You've seen all the girls spell their first names. Now you will see them do a little more. *Please ignore how awful my stairs look, someday they will get refinished*

G3:

G4:

G2 (at one point G2 was trying to think and you can hear G4 in the background saying it):

Our baby is 3!!

It is hard to believe that G4 is now 3-years old. She amazes me every day. I love her to pieces!!

Here is her annual birthday picture at 7:59 AM (the time she was born) on May 28th.

I will try to post about all her birthday celebrations this weekend sometime.

Shimmin Farm

The third and final field trip was to a farm. The farm is out in the middle of no-where between Monmouth and Roseville. The buses got lost on the way to the farm. (I heard that this also happened 2 years ago!) Turns out the bus driver printed out directions to the wrong place. He printed directions to a house that belongs to people with the same name. G1's teacher got out at that house and asked the guy there for directions. We eventually got there.

G1 told me his favorite thing was the pigs:

This duck is ugly, but kind of interesting:

This momma sheep couldn't find her baby and was crying out for it:

G1 sitting on the tractor wheel:


If I remember correctly the calf's name was Blaze (or something similar):


I had never seen a live turkey up close, they are hideous:


Feeding the chickens:
I held a bird! For those that don't know, I don't like birds. Scratch that, it isn't that I don't like birds. I'm terrified of birds!! I told G1's teacher that and she asked me if I wanted her to take a picture so I had proof that I did touch a bird.
After we left the farm we headed to Monmouth. We were going to the park to eat lunch and let the kids play. The park is right next to the cemetery. The bus drivers missed the turn into the park, so we drove through the cemetery. That was the second mishap of the day.

The third was; one of the classes lunch cooler was not to be found when we were passing out lunches. That teacher was not very happy, understandably. So, as a couple of the other chaperons were trying to find it the teachers were trying to see what there was for extra lunches (because there are always extras from what the school provides) so those that didn't have lunches could still eat. Eventually the cooler was found. It was on a seat on the bus and could not be seen from the back door. They tried to get the cooler out because the bus drivers had left to get lunch and the bus was locked. Eventually the kids did get the lunches that they were supposed to have.

After having so much go wrong I was just ready to get back to Galesburg! Thankfully the kids didn't seem to notice that anything had gone wrong all day. They had a blast!